The Blue Plate Special is the name given to a special inexpensive plated lunch or dinner served in American Diners and other inexpensive restaurants. The tradition of the blue plate special has been around since at least the 1920’s and was a hearty and cheap meal perfect for the hardworking but money-strapped folks of the time. Read on to find out the history behind this iconic “American” meal, including where the name “blue plate” came from.
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What is a Blue Plate Special?
You may have had a blue plate special in a diner that wasn’t served on a blue plate, lending even more confusion to the significance of the name. This cheap meal reached its peak during depression era and became a tradition in diners and other restaurants ever since. Even today, when you walk into a roadside diner, you may see a sign announcing the Blue Plate Special for the day.
The blue plate special refers to any large and hearty, inexpensive plated lunch or dinner with generous servings and usually a main dish with meat, three or four vegetables, bread, and a drink. Think of something like a big slab of meatloaf, mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans, a roll, and maybe a big iced tea to drink.
Today’s Blue Plate Specials will probably be served on a standard white restaurant plate, but the ‘blue’ at one time, referred to an actual plate, which was a thick China plate done in the very popular Blue China pattern, or Blue Willow Pattern, which had compartments to separate the main dish from the sides. However, there are those to doubt this origin.
When Did the Blue Plate Special Begin?
While we know the blue plate special has been around since the 1920s, it may have existed earlier. It is definitely mentioned in print earlier than 1920 and there are some sources that claim the first known use of the blue plate special was in 1892 by the Fred Harvey “Harvey House” restaurants, which, located along the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad served fast meals to travelers.
Fred Harvey supposedly bought cheap disposable blue plates with divided sections. It is also claimed that the blue color was an imitation of the famous, and much more expensive plates, made by Josiah Wedgwood.
There is also some indication that the tradition actually began on railroad dining cars, rather than the “Diners” these cars were eventually turned into.
While it’s possible that a solid blue disposable plate is an important part of the history of the meal, there is even more evidence to suggest that the plates the Blue Plate Special derived its name from were plates made in the popular Blue Willow China pattern, a pseudo-Chinese pattern widely produced by porcelain firms of the time and used extensively by restaurants all over the country.
This dish was actually called a grill plate and it was used so often it came to be synonymous with the large and cheap diner meal.
Blue Willow China Pattern
This blue willow China pattern was produced by pretty much any China porcelain company around that existed. From the early 1920s until after World War II, numerous China manufacturers were making heavy porcelain plates specifically for use in restaurants. The patterns on the plates may not have always been exactly the same, but they all were based on the same ‘blue willow’ motif. The common characteristics found on these plates’ patterns are a pagoda, three willows, a fence, and a bridge with three people running across it. There are also two birds flying above the scene.
The Story of the Blue Willow Pattern
There is a story behind this pattern. The three figures running across the bridge are two lovers being chased by either the girl’s father or a wealthy old man to whom the girl’s hand in marriage had been promised. The two lovers were captured and imprisoned in the pagoda, and then became lost in the maze underneath the pagoda and died. But their love is so great that in death they are transformed into birds and fly away, and these are the two birds flying in the scene above.
Although the story is Chinese, the pattern is English in origin. It was first designed and engraved in 1780 by an artist named Thomas Minton, who then sold it to a potter named Thomas Turner, and Turner mass produced the pattern on porcelain for the economy market. Turner first produced this blue underglaze pattern during his tenure at the Caughley factory.
The Blue Willow Pattern became the most popular China pattern in the world. It was subsequently imitated by many pottery makers and became available in the U.S. in the early 1900s and sold widely during the depression er. You could even get it through such catalogs as Sears and Woolworth’s. The blue China pattern products of the time, were, in a way, blue-collar China.
Blue Divided Plates?
You may see solid blue divided plates being referenced as ‘blue plate special’ plates, and some sources on the net, erroneously I think, state that the term derives from a sturdy plate with special divided compartments that was manufactured during the depression area. These sources claim that only the color blue was available among other colors and that ‘some manufacturer’ (which is never named) made the inexpensive blue plates for the restaurant trade.
This is not likely to be historically accurate, as the blue willow pattern is reported to have been extensively used during the period. It’s more likely that solid blue divided plates were made after the ‘blue plate special’ was popular. Some diners today will serve their Blue Plate Special on a solid blue colored divided plate, or at least a plate with blue in it, presumably in an effort to be retro or historically accurate.
Key Points Summary for “How Did the Blue Plate Special Get Started?”
- What is a Blue Plate Special?
- The Blue Plate Special is a hearty, inexpensive plated lunch or dinner served in American diners and restaurants. It typically includes a main dish with meat, three or four vegetables, bread, and a drink.
- Origin of the Name
- The name ‘blue plate’ originally referred to a thick China plate in the Blue Willow Pattern, which had compartments to separate the main dish from the sides. However, today’s Blue Plate Specials are often served on standard white plates.
- When Did the Blue Plate Special Begin?
- The Blue Plate Special has been around since at least the 1920s, possibly earlier. Some sources claim it began in 1892 with the Fred Harvey “Harvey House” restaurants, which served fast meals to travelers along the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe railroads.
- Blue Willow China Pattern
- The Blue Willow China Pattern, featuring a pagoda, willows, a fence, a bridge, and birds, was widely produced and used in restaurants. It was first designed in 1780 by Thomas Minton and mass-produced by Thomas Turner.
- The Story of the Blue Willow Pattern
- The pattern tells a story of two lovers being chased and imprisoned in a pagoda, who die but are transformed into birds in death. The pattern became the most popular China pattern in the world and was widely available in the U.S. during the depression era.
- Blue Divided Plates?
- Solid blue divided plates are sometimes used for Blue Plate Specials today, but historically, the term likely derives from the Blue Willow Pattern rather than solid blue plates.
